DISTRICT ATTORNEY OFFICE
Meanwhile in the District Attorney Office, Blake Tower and his assistant William Hao had been busy working on some important stuff, but in the meantime, the two were preparing for a trial that was about to happen in the next hour, so they needed to get all the paper set up and ready.
"Just be sure that once the trial begins, you will be the first to provide the statement," District Attorney Tower instructed to his assistant.
"Yes Mr. Tower," Attorney Hao complied. "Anyhing else?"
Before That was when the door suddenly opens and group of police officers enter the room. The people Pete Zamora, Manuel Herrera, Clair Dodge, Tomas Delgado, Paul Budiansky, Brett Mahoney, Molly von Richthofen, and Misty Knight, all who work for the New York City Police Department.
"Mr. Tower?" Misty asked.
"Yes," District Attorney Tower answered. "What is going on?"
"I'm Misty Knight, working for the NYPD," Misty said.
"What's this about?" District Attorney Tower asked.
"I don't think your going to like this, but is there some place where he can all talk privately?" Detective Mahoney asked.
TRISKELION
Inside the Triskelion, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fortified headquarters that was restored after HYDRA's attempt to conquer and devastate the world with the use of Project Insight, Lady Sif and Agent Phil Coulson walked into a large meeting room where Melinda May, Jebediah Young, Elena Rodriguez, Dakota North, Athena Parthenos, Samuel Wilson, Sharon Carter, and Bucky Barnes were all seated.
"So what's this that we're now watching" Jebediah asked.
"Just about two hours ago, a video showed a recording of an unknown enhanced individual, all dark in armor, appeared out of nowhere in front of a crowd of 212 people inside the Rose Center & Space Museum," Agent Coulson explained the news. "No one knows what happened, but the footage also showed that the 212 guests inside the museum were all consumed by this shiny cube, whatever its called."
"To correct you, that's a cosmic cube, son of Coul," Sif corrected him.
"Cosmic Cube?" Captain Falcon asked. "Can somebody elaborate that?"
"Cosmic Cubes are not things for people, like us to play with," Athena explained about the cube. "If someone touches a cube, it can control matter and energy, answering to the will to the person that uses it. However, it takes a lot of practice for someone to use any of these cubes properly. For what a few in this room know, is that these cosmic cubes can be used to teleport to any place across the universe."
"That sounds pretty similar to one that S.H.I.E.L.D. was in possession of," Agent May said.
"Yeah, the Tesseract," Agent Coulson replied, already knowing about it.
"And none of you knew that the Tesseract held an Infinity Stone?" Sif asked, concerned.
"Not really," Jedediah said.
"Well I guess that explains how everything connected to the Infinity War," Sergeant Barnes said.
"So you telling us that these cosmic cubes can teleport people to any destination?" Agent 13 asked.
"Bingo," Athena grinned.
"Well, I guess that means, wherever the hell those people are, they must be either stranded on another world or maybe a different dimension," Captain Falcon said.
"So how can we find them?" Slingshot asked.
"That one is a very difficult question to ask," Athena sighed. "No matter where they are or what they can do, its up to them to find a way to survive. If not, well, they could either be dead if they are stranded on a world that could be barren."
"Yeah well, Hawkeye and his family were among those taken by the cube," Captain Falcon said.
"May I ask, how many of these Cosmic Cubes existed in our universe?" Dakota asked.
"Apparently, my own scholars claimed that there were only four of these cubes that existed in this universe," Athena answered her question. "No one knows what happened to them, but now it seems to me that one of the cubes was kept here on this planet for who knows how long."
"Well if that's true, then what do we do now?" Dakota asked.
"So far, Sauron is bending his time," Sif said. "Athena and I don't how long when the Dark Lord will come to this world and scorch it."
"That's seems like bad news," Jedediah said.
"Yep," Sergeant Barnes sighed.
"Well, I guess we already know what it means," Agent Coulson said, sensing what it was. "Invasion."
"Like I was ready to hear that word," Agent May sighed, not liking it.
"Sorry that had to p*** you off, Agent May, but we gotta find a way to stop this," Agent Coulson said. "Unless if Athena or Sif can say anything before any of us believe that we are screwed."
"I can try to consult with my dad and the rest of the pantheons at Omnipotence City," Athena said. "It may take a while for them to come to a decision in wanting to deal with the threat that Sauron is willing to unleash. They have armies of their own, so I suppose there's a chance. But in the meantime, you guys have to assemble yourselves and trust your instincts. If you don't, well, can't say I should warn you, but confronting him without a plan will get you all killed. That is something you should all think of."
"Yeah, thanks for the tip," Captain Falcon pretended to sound acknowledged to all that.
"I already sent a message to Queen Rūna of New Asgard," Sif said to the group. "Ever since Thor, me, and those closet were able to make our wishes come true, thanks to defeating Desak Sterixian and meeting Eternity, I know in my heart that Rūna and the representatives of the Congress of Worlds will assemble an army as soon as possible."
"And what is this army suppose to be?" Slingshot asked.
"We call it the League of Realms," Sif answered.
"It has been a long time since I've heard it," Athena remarked with a grin. "The last I remember, the League of Realms assembled together and fought in the War of the Last Alliance on Arda."
"The League of Realms might be are only chance, but I'll consult this with the Congress of Worlds if they decide in going to war on Arda," Sif said.
"So what exactly should we do then?" Agent 13 asked if there was a plan.
"Wait and think of a way to do an element of surprise?" Sergeant Barnes asked.
"And how do you suppose we do that, exactly?" Dakota asked him that.
"Element of surprise, well, that's not a bad idea, but we gotta think of this first, cause none of us know of Sauron's power," Jedediah said.
"Turtleman and I can try to scour across the planet in search of people, like those with abilities," Yo-Yo suggested. "I know there are Inhumans. Powerful Inhumans. Very unique."
"And lets not forget enhanced individuals," Agent May added. "Those who are not Inhuman."
"But the very greatest Inhuman is Daisy and more importantly, we still haven't received any word from her ever since she was lost in action," Jebediah remarked and looked very worried since he and Daisy were great partners.
"You mean the Quake Girl?" Falcon asked.
"A burning eye comes out with a storm and then leaves," Agent 13 said. "It was probably a warning."
"That is correct!" A loud powerful voice responded.
Everyone in the room turns around to face the person, who was revealed to be Nicholas Joseph Fury, a world-renowned spy, former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and founder of the Avengers. Nicholas Joseph Fury was born in Huntsville, Alabama on July 4, 1950. All throughout his childhood, Fury had insisted on only ever being addressed by his surname, even making his mother call him Fury, which he continued to insist for the rest of his life. Once he finished high school, Fury joined the United States Army, working his way up the ranks as a soldier until being promoted to Colonel. Afterwards, he left the military and joined the CIA to pursue a career in espionage. By the 1970s, Fury had a lot of action in Soviet territory, particularly Belfast, Belgrade, Budapest and Bucharest, constantly moving around the world due to the ongoing conflict of the Cold War. Fury chose to be dispatched in those locations, due to them all starting with the letter 'B' and that he could make them rhyme when he would mention them in passing. Fury joined S.H.I.E.L.D. by the 1980s and was working under Keller's command by 1988. For six years since 1989, he had been working a desk job in a S.H.I.E.L.D. office, attempting to locate and hunt down future enemies. By 1995, he had Level 3 S.H.I.E.L.D. clearance.
The great scope of enemies widened as Nick Fury would meet a woman named Vers, for which he chose to help her uncover her human heritage as "Carol Danvers", as the two fought off the Starforce, which was led by Yon-Rogg, as they were targeting a group of Skrull refugees that survived the destruction of Skrullos. He even took a liking to Goose, who scratched him for violating her space and permanently blinded Fury's left eye. Despite what Goose did, Nick Fury still carried a great respect and relationship with Goose. In hopes to keep Goose's heritage secret, he kept the reason for this injury secret, telling others it was classified but happened in the line of duty, while Danvers had then left the Earth in order to find a new home for the Skrulls and protect the rest of the universe. Sometime before 2009, Nick Fury was promoted to the rank of director of S.H.I.E.L.D. by Donald Birch, Victoria Louise Hand, Alexander Pierce, and the World Security Council. He refocused his efforts over the next 15 years to organize the Avengers Initiative, with Fury's true intentions were to bring together any other powerful individuals to assist S.H.I.E.L.D. with protecting the Earth from extraterrestrial threats, which he had only learned of following his encounters with the Kree and Skrulls.
Despite some more considerable reluctance from World Security Council who had not believed in his theories, Director Nick Fury had still continued his efforts and eventually managed to recruit both Anthony Edward Stark "Iron Man" and Steven Grant Rogers "Captain America" into his Initiative, ready for an incoming invasion. With the Avengers ready, Nick Fury was forced to call them all into action when the Earth was invaded by Loki, who exiled himself from Asgard and used the power of the Mind Stone to brainwash people to help him in his plans to steal the Tesseract. After the Avengers was beginning to assemble, Director Fury took charge of the hunt for Loki, leading the volatile team through the mission as they attempted to learn what Loki's plan for the Tesseract was and who he had been working for. This all then came to a head following Loki killing Phil Coulson, before being tracked to New York City. There, all the Avengers engaged Loki and his entire incoming army of Chitauri in a final battle, with Director Fury keeping the World Security Council from nuking the entire city before Loki was defeated and the Avengers remained disassembled, but would assemble anytime if another threat is at hand.
Following SH.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers's victory against Loki and the Chitauri's defeat, Nick Fury recruited Steven Grant Rogers as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, while he worked on the new Project Insight, as a means of accurately predicting threats; something which conflicted with Rogers' ideals. However, when he began to suspect that something was wrong with Project Insight, he then found himself becoming a target of the Winter Soldier, forcing himself to fake his own death and go into hiding with people he most definitely trust, such as Maria Hill and Alexander Pierce. With limited people he could trust, Fury then turned to Captain America along with Natasha Romanoff, Alexander Pierce, Samuel Wilson, and Maria Hill to lead the fight, as he soon discovered that HYDRA had secretly managed to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. and Donald Birch, a man who he trusted, was revealed to be the leader, as Captain Rogers had also learned that the Winter Soldier was actually his friend Bucky Barnes, who had been brainwashed by HYDRA for decades, following Barnes' apparent death in 1945. Once Fury and his allies had stopped Project Insight and also killed Pierce, Fury chose to go into hiding to continue hunting down the remaining HYDRA cells. He then assisted the now resurrected Phil Coulson in defeating John Allen Adams while also stopping his plans for Project Deathlok. Following this, he chose to promote Agent Coulson as the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., telling him to rebuild it from the ground up.
While remaining contact with his allies he trusted, Nick Fury continued to hide in the shadows, fearing that he was still a target of HYDRA and it would not emerge until every cell in HYDRA was defeated. He continued to remain in contact with Maria Hill, Talos, Alexander Pierce, Bruno Kreah, Margaret Huff, Eric Koenig, Olivia Hook, Jasper Sitwell, Jonathan Garrett, Timothy Dugan, Gabriel Jones, Thomas Davidson, Councilman Charles Dalton, and members that were party of a secrety society known as the Brotherhood of the Shield, who were responsible for helping Fury hide. Along with Koenig, Hood, Sitwell, Garrett, Dugan, Jones, and Davidson, Fury established the Howling Commandos Private Military Company, and picked a few hidden bases that would serve as personal headquarters for the restore Howling Commandos. Recruiting agents that were being targeted by HYDRA and protecting families that were at high risk, Nick Fury and his companions found that this would be a rough business. As his allies remained at his side and would be called in when trouble ever arose, Agent Fury led the Howling Commandos to aid the the Avengers during the Ultron Offensive, serving as support during the Battle of Sokovia. There, he commanded the rebuilt Helicarrier, which Coulson's new S.H.I.E.L.D. secretly worked on.
In 2018, Nick Fury and all his agents in the Howling Commandos Private Military Company, espically those in the Howling Commandos, were among the trillions of victims in the Snap that Thanos Rex had caused in order to balance the universe. Just as he was being snapped away, Fury managed to send a distress signal to his old friend Carol Danvers, warning that there was an issue. Five years later, he and everyone that were dusted by Thanos were brought back by the Hulk in the Blip and attended Tony Stark's funeral alongside the other Avengers after he sacrificed his life in the Battle of Earth. He was then made aware of Peter Parker's identity as Spider-Man and was tasked with delivering the E.D.I.T.H. glasses to him. However, deciding to take a vacation in space on Talos' flagship, Fury tasked Talos and Soren to impersonate himself and Maria Hill respectively on Earth and to deliver the glasses to Spider-Man on his behalf. After discovering that Talos and Spider-Man had been involved in a crisis in Europe, he decided to end his vacation and return to work with the rest of his Skrull personnel that were working with S.W.O.R.D. under the leadership of Director Abigail Brand.
"Sir?" Agent Coulson scoffed in abosulte surprise upon seeing him.
"Don't call me 'sir', Agent Coulson," Nick Fury replied as he sits himself down and takes a sip of water. "I'm not the acting director of S.H.I.E.L.D. or better yet, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't come back yet. Which is why, I came all the way from one of S.W.O.R.D.'s secret headquarters within space to the Triskelion to find out what the hell is going on. And when I was back, I look into the news and see a burning eye in the heart of a storm, hovering over the city of New York like it was about to put the city on fire. Something is at mist here and we need to get to the bottom of it. So, anyone in this quiet, forsaken room would like to ask."
"I take it Maria called you and told you about Director Quake," Agent May assumed.
"Correct," Nick Fury nodded his answer.
"So where is Agent Hill?" Agent Coulson asked.
"Not present, but she's doing her job by rallying support with other special trained agents of S.W.O.R.D.," Nick Fury explained. "Will see her soon, but right now, it seems you lot are having a little issue in dealing with a new global threat."
"Its hard to tell whether it is or not," Agent May said.
"We've dealt with a lot of global threats in the past," Nick Fury remembered. "But this one, this is serious. When the Avengers came into action, the very first threat was the Chitauri, an alien race that served Thanos, almost invading the planet, and causing a bit of mayhem in our beloved city New York."
"Everyone knows about the Battle of New York," Dakota remembered. "I was there and I spent my whole life helping people that suffered in the aftermath of the battle."
"Sorry, is she new?" Nick Fury asked.
"Ah, its a long story," Agent Coulson sighed in embarrassment.
"Well defy the story," Nick Fury scoffed.
"So whats this got to do with you coming here during our meeting?" Captain Falcon asked.
"Mr. Wilson, I'm actually the one who founded the Avengers during my job as director, well former director," Nick Fury explained to him and gave a Bucky Barnes a hateful stare, but focused on the point. "The Old Avengers may have been dissembled, but now it is time for the New Avengers here to get off their asses and think of a plan to take our enemy down to the ground. Does that answer?"
"I like this guy," Athena remarked.
"Yeah no sh**," Sergeant Barnes sighed. "As a matter of fact, I almost killed him while was still HYDRA's number one puppy."
"That was in the past Mr. Barnes," Nick Fury noted. "Care to focus on what you have to do for the future of mankind?"
"I'm already on that sir," Sergeant Barnes complied.
"Good, cause we got two more people helping us," Nick Fury remarked when he noticed Jessica Jones and Bruce Banner entering the room.
"Well, this seems pretty awkward and sh**," Jewel cussed and sighed in ignorance.
"Sorry I'm late folks," Professor Hulk apologized in embarrassment.
"Wait a minute, your the Hulk?" Dakota scoffed.
"Well yeah, I am," Professor Hulk replied to her question. "Its rather a long story."
"Well last time I remember, you were like a angry monster that took down these alien Chitauri from a wormhole," Dakota recalled of an event that happened years ago.
"What weren't expecting the Hulk to come in here with clothes?" Professor Hulk asked, pretending to sound serious. "C'mon, do I look like I'm the only one here?"
"I don't think that's what she meant," Sergeant Barnes chuckled a bit with Sam Wilson, thinking how funny it was for the Hulk to say that.
"Well let me explain, um years ago, my old team and I got our asses beaten by Thanos, who successfully wiped 50% of life in the universe with the flick of a Snap," Professor Hulk began his story of what had truly happened. "Except it was worse for me. Because I lost twice. First, Hulk lost, then Banner lost. Then, we all lost."
"Well no one blames you, Doctor Banner," Nick Fury said.
"Thanks Fury," Professor Hulk nodded in delight and went on with his story. "I've been treating the Hulk like he's some kind of disease, something to get rid of. But then I started looking at him as the cure. Eighteen months in a gamma lab. I put the brains and the brawn together. And now look at me. Best of both worlds. I'm no longer a raging monster. Yes, I can get angry in a way like everyone else, but for me, I'm usually a guy willing to be in a very calm manner."
"Well that's a very interesting story for me to remember," Dakota remarked.
"This is one reason why the Hulk has always been my idol," Athena grinned.
"So tell me, did you speak with Barton?" Agent Coulson asked.
"I did," Professor Hulk nodded his head. "Didn't go to well."
"I can tell by the look of your face that Barton dumped your ass off the Golden Bridge, did he?" Nick Fury asked.
"Ah, he did," Professor Hulk sighed and sat himself down. "But now I hear that he and his family are gone. This is serious. I mean, what the hell are we dealing with right now, huh? Looks like the end of the world is coming. Or maybe the end of the universe as we speak."
"Please don't bring that utter bullish** to me, Mr. Hulk," Jewel sighed in annoyance. "I don't admire hearing the term end of the world or end of the universe when I'm present."
"Sorry," Professor Hulk apologized.
"Very mild if you ask me," Captain Falcon whispered next to Bucky Barnes, who nodded.
"Does anyone here have anything to say to this, cause I really got my ass dragged into this, so try to enlighten me," Jewel pretended for anyone in the room to insist of a plan.
"Yeah I think we should wait another time in discussing on whether the end of the world is happening," Captain Falcon suggested in changing the subject.
"Yeah Sam makes a good point," Agent 13 agreed with a sigh, not liking the plan at all. "Save all that, cause we got work to do."
"There you go, that's exactly what I mean," Nick Fury said. "This freaky looking fiery eye maybe something to worry about, but its time for the Avengers to reassemble once again. Look around you people, I'm not the only guy here that has to tell you all this sh**. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. So I'm asking, make a stand. Outwit this bas****. He's trying to take you folks out to play, probably to buy himself time. None of us are sure of what he's building, but I can tell you he might be building an army or something catastrophic. If its an amount of power that no one has ever come across, then who do you think can stop it. Well, I don't think its just one thing. This is a Level Seven. As of right now, we are at war."
"Good speech," Jewel remarked. "But not as long."
"So mind it I ask, where can we find this Sauron guy?" Captain Falcon asked. "Are there people here that secretly answer to him?"
"Honestly, there's no word of that," Athena answered.
"He'll be easy to track," Sif said. "His main base of operations is Mordor, one of the most largest realms on the planet Arda."
"Okay, so we go there and what say hello?" Dakota asked. "Or do we just figure out a plan?"
"I doubt he may not want to say 'hello' to anyone that are about to get in his way," Nick Fury openly stated.
"Do tell, cause I think this plan will get really messy if we ever confront that ba*****," Sergeant Barnes said.
"Or even now," Agent 13 added to his personal statement.
"Well, it still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans, though," Nick Fury added more to the topic.
"What do you suppose he has in mind?" Yo-Yo asked.
"Its hard to tell," Professor Hulk answered with a sigh. "I mean ever since we beat Thanos, none of us understood what other evil had been lurking around the face of the universe... or perhaps across the dang Multiverse."
"Multiverse theory, here we go," Jewel sighed in ignorance.
"Look, there are some that know about the Multiverse and other crazy dimensions that no one on Earth has ever came across with, but maybe Sauron might have something to do about conquering the Multiverse," Agent Coulson stated his facts.
"Well, I don't know what Sauron is planning, son of Coul, but the only thing I know... is that Sauron plans to take the universe as his own domain," Sif said. "But I also heard a rumor that the Dark Lord was in search of the Annihilation Wave."
"Can somebody tell me what the hell is an Annihilation Wave?" Captain Falcon asked.
"The Annihilation Wave, I heard of it, and its something really bad," Athena explained about it. "Its an interdimensional invading force that was led by Annihilus, an interdimensional conqueror and tyrant. He had the most incredibly powerful force that laid waste to dozens of galaxies, slaughtered numerous worlds, and has captured or killed cosmic beings. It was both an armada with thousands of starships and an army with countless "bugs". Good thing, we had powerful friends that defeated Annihilus and his Annihilation Wave and those that survived retreated back to the Negative Zone."
"Well, that should finish the story," Nick Fury said.
"Do you think Sauron is searching for this Negative Zone?" Jewel asked curiously.
"Probably," Athena shrugged. "No one knows whether that's true, but Sauron had many friends who trusted him."
"Well, if this huevón plans to find this Annihilation Wave, how is he going to do it?" Yo-Yo asked.
"The only way for Sauron to enter the Negative Zone are the cosmic cubes," Athena answered.
"Cosmic Cubes?" Jebediah asked, confused as to what they are.
"I take it that this is something none of us would like to hear," Nick Fury sighed.
"Nor do I," Jewel agreed.
"Same," Dakota agreed too by raising her arm for a brief moment.
"We never thought that Sauron would get his hands on these cubes," Sif sighed in a bit of worry.
"I suppose that's the reason why that dark-armored figure was going after that cube in the first place," Agent Coulson stated correctly.
"Yeah, I definitely agree with Coulson's statements," Professor Hulk agreed.
"This doesn't make any sense, why wasn't that cube discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D., S.W.O.R.D., H.A.M.M.E.R., or any other agencies around the world?" Agent May asked. "That cube should've been kept in one of our vaults."
"Or perhaps New Asgard's vaults," Sif suggested.
"Yeah, well we still haven't got to the part of what these Cosmic Cubes are," Captain Falcon spoke immediately. "What do they do?"
"Cosmic Cubes can contral matter and energy, answering to the will of the sentient beings that use them," Sif explained about the Cosmic Cubes. "They require practice to be used properly, but a skillful user can alter all reality to answer to its thoughts, granting anything they desire. Sentient beings wanting to create a Cosmic Cube must first generate a force field to open a rift to another dimension inhabited by the Beyonders, allowing the extra-dimensional energy to filter through the rift. When entering the Earth's dimension, the energies can be held in a matrix, and the force itself would shape the matrix into a perfect cube. It would also provide the Cube with its almost unlimited power."
"Okay, I guess Fury really makes a point about of what we don't like to hear," Sergeant Barnes nodded in agreement.
"Tell me about it, cause I was really planning on drinking my vodka," Jewel sighed, crossing her arms in disgust.
"Now's not the time for vodka or any drink," Agent Coulson said. "If what Sif and Athena know about those cubes, I take it that's exactly what the dark lord wants."
"And that's exactly what he plans to finish," Athena sighed, not feeling too pleased by this. "He tried to do it before, but he failed."
"Even if Sauron was planning to conquer the universe with the Annihilation Wave, was he planning on setting his foot on Earth long ago?" Jebediah asked.
"He would've succeeded, but he really underestimated his enemies," Athena answered Jebediah's question.
"I take it he was beaten before?" Nick Fury asked her.
"He was," Sif said.
"Oh, this is something I like to hear," Captain Falcon said, pretending to sound intrigued.
"I think we should tell them," Sif suggested to Athena.
"Well, depending what they're about to hear might pi** them off, but whatever," Athena sighed and went on to explain her story about Sauron. "Before Sauron, there was another Dark Lord who wanted the exact power to control all life and will throughout the universe. His name was Morgoth, who was the greatest of the Ainur, a race of beings beings created by Ilúvatar before the birth of our universe."
"That's something I won't forget before bedtime," Yo-Yo whispered to Jebediah.
"Yeah," Jebediah whispered back.
"While Morgoth wandered through the Void in an attempt to find and use the Flame Imperishable, he developed ideas unlike those of the other Ainur," Athena continued on with her story. "His feelings grew rebellious against his creator, for he wished to create sentient beings to inhabit the Void and was dissatisfied by the fact that Ilúvatar had not done so. However, Melkor could not find the Flame, for it was not in the Void, but with Ilúvatar. Morgoth was a the master of corruption, for he fought against the Valar during the First Age on Arda, the very first world to me made in this universe. Eventually, Morgoth was defeated, bound in chains by his enemies and tossed back into the Void, leaving the permanent damage his evils had done. That was when Sauron, Morgoth's trusted lieutenant and the very one responsible for Barahir's death, strove to continue to conquer all of Arda and the rest of the universe. Sauron had many names, for he was known as the Base Master of Treachery, The Deceiver, King of Kings, or the Great. Like Morgoth, he was a master of deception, for he deceived the Elves of the Vale, a faction living in Eregion while ge forged in secret a great ring of power, for it was known as the One Ring. This ancient artifact enhanced the natural powers of its bearer, and it could also be used to decelerate decay and change in the world. But unlike the other rings, the One Ring was forged by Sauron alone without any Elvish assistance, but there was a rumor that the One Ring was forged by the great elven smith Celebrimbor. Sauron deceived Celebrimbor and killed him.
"What was the ring meant to do?" Sergeant Barnes asked.
"Domination," Athena answered.
"OKay, that sound pretty ominous," Captain Falcon said.
"But something happened right?" Professor Hulk asked. "Something happened."
"A grand alliance was formed on a number of worlds, including Arda itself," Athena went on with the story. "As Sauron waged war on Arda and every world that opposed him, a golden age of heroes banded together to defend their worlds from Sauron's wrath and terror. However, Sauron was in possession of a Together, they and their armies fought to defend every world from Sauron and his allies that all paid homage to him. Eventually, the allied forces began to launch their siege on Mordor itself. Of course Mordor was Sauron's domain. Once they were in Mordor to fight for the freedom, Sauron put together a strong defence with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of projectile and sorties for over seven years. While my father and King Buri were far away from Barad-Dûr, King Ereinion Gil-galad of the Elves of the Vale and High King Elendil of the Faithful led their armies to confront him near Orodruin. The two kings fought against Sauron in single combat, but the Dark Lord was able to strike down Elendil, and his sword Narsil broke in two beneath him as he fell. Gil-galad's face was scorched by the heat of Sauron's hand and it killed him. Nonetheless, Sauron was wounded in the fight with the two kings, and as he let his guard down. That was when Isildur took up the broken hilt of his father's blade and sliced off Sauron's ring. The battle marked the passing of Sauron and the beginning of the Third Age on Arda. Before Ereinion's passing, he told his fellow heralds Círdan and Elrond to advise Isildur to destroy the One Ring by throwing it in the fires of Mount Doom, but the power of the ring had a will of its own. Isildur was corrupted by the One Ring and refused to destroy it. I was right there beneath the slopes of Mount Doom. I watched as Círdan and Elrond tried to convince Isildur to destroy it, but he wouldn't listen, for the One Ring already had a hold over him. I let that man go and that's why the ring was lost in the Anduin River. No where to be found. But even as the ring continued to remain, Sauron continued to exist. He poured his life-force into the ring, and since ring survived, so did he."
"If that is true, then why didn't you stop him?" Agent 13 asked, sounding a bit angry for what Athena had said.
"I'm with her, you could've stopped him, took the ring, and cast it back to where it came from," Sergeant Barnes agreed.
"Your right, this was one of my biggest mistakes," Athena sighed. "I should've stopped him, but how could I, what kind of a friend would I be if I made it worse? Point is, I didn't know before that Sauron would've poured his life-force into the ring. But we have a chance, a chance to make up the mistake I made in letting him go."
"Sauron will not stop until he finds the ring, and I know he's very close in recovering it," Sif sensed.
"And if he gets it back, then its the whole end of the world thing," Nick Fury clicked his tongue and sighed. "Well, I guess that concludes for today."
"Do you think Sauron knows about Earth, I mean can this sicko really go after things?" Dakota asked as well. "For example, launch codes."
"I don't think Sauron knows anything about launch codes," Sergeant Barnes answered her question.
"Sergeant Barnes makes a solid point," Nick Fury agreed. "But my dead eye tells me he's not making any headway."
"I don't think its simple for Sauron to come after launch codes, not unless if he has allies on Earth that work for him," Agent Coulson explained his doubts about the Dark Lord. "My theory suggests he may know about all us in this room. If he knows about the Avengers, then I fear he may try to exploit our weaknesses, probably lure us into a trap."
"And when its a trap, your dead," Jewel answered.
"Trap or not, but in my mind, Sauron wants to wage war against the entire universe, bend it under his will, and if he does, he'll be too powerful enough for us to handle if he gets what he wants back," Professor Hulk said.
"So I guess he's going to be waiting for the time to strike," Agent 13 stated.
"Well, we better think fast before Earth falls into a crossfire between us and the Dark Lord," Professor Hulk said.
"I already contacted Colonel Rhodes, General Talbot, and Secretary Ross about this," Nick Fury informed him. "Bad news is, Carol Danvers, Talos, and S.W.O.R.D. haven't been answering my calls lately until Hill and I learned on what had happened on Hala, but the good news is, I managed to get in contact with friends at the Nexus."
"Nexus?" Sergeant Barnes asked, confused as to what it was.
"Its the world Internet hub in Oslo," Professor Hulk told him about it. "Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth."
"So, what did they say?" Agent 13 asked.
"They gave some tips about HYDRA," Nick Fury explained. "According to the logs, HYDRA almost gained access on missiles somewhere in a military base, but thanks to S.W.O.R.D., S.H.I.E.L.D., and the FBI, we were able to foil their plan when they constantly changed the codes."
"I thought all of HYDRA was destroyed," Dakota recalled on past reports.
"HYDRA always comes back," Sergeant Barnes said.
"Cut off one head, two more will take its place," Nick Fury said. "If your going to ask Miss North, it means that HYDRA will always continue to exist, even if its hiding in the shadows."
"So why would HYDRA go after missiles?" Agent May asked. "What are they up to?"
"Probably to use them to destroy enemy targets," Agent Coulson openly stated. "For that matter, HYDRA's got a lot of enemies."
"Not just HYDRA, Sauron included," Athena pointed.
"Do we have any allies that can really help the Avengers?" Agent 13 asked.
"I have been in contact with a lot of other parties around the world, so our plan is, start small and grow big," Professor Hulk answered Sharon's question. "Simple as that."
"It depends on how long it will take," Agent May sighed.
"You know, back in the day, I had eyes everywhere," Nick Fury began to explain something else. "Ears, everywhere else. The old Avengers, including Bruce here, they had all the tech they could dream up. Here we all are, back on Earth with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world or every other in the whole dang universe. Even now, Sauron only wants one thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the burning bastard before he's ready to strike."
"Hmm, well if its a fight that Sauron wants, then I'm in," Yo-Yo declared.
"There is another thing that I like to share as well," Agent Coulson said.
"And what is it?" Jewel asked.
"When the Eye of Sauron was hovering over New York, one of my agents sent a message to Agent Chastity McBryde that he was talking to only one person while everyone in the city was listening," Agent Coulson explained his latest report. "It depends on who it was, but my guts tell me he was trying to persuade someone to join his side."
"Sounds bad," Bucky sarcastically said.
"Better yet it is bad," Agent Coulson told him with a grin on his face.
"Did this person accept this a**hole's offer?" Captain Falcon asked.
"Not that we're aware of," Agent May answered.
"And who the hell was that Sauron eye even talking to?" Jebediah asked.
"Unknown," Agent Coulson answered.
"I think I know who he was talking to," Sif spoke out her answer. "He was talking to the Iron Fist of K'un-Lun."
"Uh, I'm sorry, the what fist?" Captain Falcon asked, pretending like he didn't know.
"Yeah, you lost me, what is an Iron Fist and... what is K'un-Lun?" Dakota asked.
"Its not part of our world," Sif explained. "I know a little bit of it because I've been there myself when I met one who bared the power of the Iron Fist. He was a great warrior and he fought with me in a battle against an army that was bent to restore the Kingdom of Angmar. We won that battle."
"Sounds like a hell of a battle you been through," Athena remarked.
"It was," Sif nodded and let out a deep sigh. "I will never forget that."
"Sif, maybe you can save more on your story for a much later time, cause, I think we came to a point now that we have to get ourselves prepared," Agent Coulson decided to continue on with the subject.
"Yeah, and its my job not to ask ridiculous questions," Dakota sighed. "Sorry."
"We need to find this Iron Fist," Yo-Yo suggested. "If the Dark Lord knows about him, he could be in serious danger."
"Not to worry, Agent McBryde and I already have one of our own that will do the job for us," Agent Coulson told her.
"That's good," Yo-Yo nodded in remark.
"We have a new hostile force that is ready to take action," Nick Fury warned. "This is a Level Seven. As of right now, we are at war."
"So what's next now that we're at war?" Dakota asked, wondering what the plan was.
"We get ready," Captain Falcon answered, standing himself up from his seat. "Its time for the Avengers to reassemble."
"We do it together," Sergeant Barnes said, rising from his seat.
"As a team," Agent 13 said as she rose from her seat.
"You serious?" Captain Falcon scoffed. "Cause right now, I would really want to..."
"Save it for later, Sam," Agent 13 cut him off. "I want to help. For Steve."
"And for Tony," Professor Hulk added another hero to mention. "He was my friend, and if he were here right now, I say he would help too."
"No matter what happens, we will be ready for him," Yo-Yo said.
"And we will show him whose boss," Captain Falcon grinned.
"I work alone, but I'll help too," Jewel sighed, rolling her eyes unsatisfied. "Don't count me as an Avenger."
"Oh I won't consider that," Captain Falcon chuckled a bit.
"Well Coulson, looks to me we're doing it again like the last time before New York," Nick Fury recalled at the time they began recruiting Steven Rogers, Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, Thor Odinson, Bruce Banner, and Clint Barton as the first known heroes to be part of the Avengers Initiative.
"Don't remind me of that, sir," Agent Coulson smiled.
"Well, the Avengers is back in action, so what's next?" Dakota asked.
"One hour," Agent Coulson gave out a direct order. "Get what you need. By the stroke of dawn, we depart."